Romanian Court Rules in Favor of Referendum on Gay and Lesbian Marriage

A top court in Romania says that a referendum can go ahead to block gay and lesbian marriage from coming to the country by changing the country’s constitution. Religious groups want to change the country’s constitution that shows that marriage is between two spouses. Conservatives want it to reflect that marriage is only between a man and a woman.

The fight to change the constitution began in 2016 when the Coalition for Family amassed nearly 3 million signatures to allow the country to vote to forever prevent gay marriage. The lower house voted to approve the vote last year, and earlier this month the senate voted for the vote.

LGBT rights groups launched challenges to the referendum saying that voting to change the constitution is wrong, but this challenge was denied by a court that said there was “no legal impediment to the referendum going forward.”